Disclaimer: Inception does not belong to me. All readers and reviews appreciated, thank you!

Fran rubbed her face with the towel, and shrugged into her bathrobe. The cool shower had been a welcome relief after the trauma of the extraction.

She walked into her bedroom, and sat in front of her vanity unit. As she opened a pot of moisturiser, flashbacks of the scenes in her office began to crowd into her mind. She put her fingers into the cold cream, and shivered.

"Well, that's it." Eames' voice was flat, unemotional. "Its over. Finished." He turned to look at Jensen, who was mewling like a frightened kitten. "What has happened to him?"

Fran knelt down, and tried to peer into his eyes, but he blocked her hand and kept curling himself up. "Trauma." Her tone was businesslike. "I think what he saw has –"

"Unhinged him?" Eames supplied. "It was a dream-"

"Yes, but when you have psychosis, your grasp on reality is tenuous to begin with." She paused. "He's convinced himself that what he saw was real. That he really saw Arthur shoot his boyfriend. He doesn't realise it was only a projection."

Arthur swallowed. "Well, I was-"

"You were what?" Furious, Cobb turned to the Point Man, his eyes flashing. "You were what, Arthur? Are you going to try and justify yourself? Because part of me is dying to hear it!"

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Arthur looked angry. "Was I supposed to go up against the wall whilst Rafe enjoyed himself? He was capable of anything!"

"You were supposed to stick to the plan!" Cobb's tone was the angriest Arthur had ever heard. "You were supposed to be in the dream, with me, helping me look to extract from him! Instead, you went wild! You went after him, you drew the projection out – and we had to go and help you!"

"I took care of it!" Arthur's face was turning from white to red. "I got away from them – you and Eames didn't have to come after me!"

"Oh," Cobb's jaw dropped slightly. "Oh, so you're saying you would have been perfectly happy to let two psychopaths torment you in a dream? They could have done anything!"

"But they didn't!" Arthur shouted back. "I got away!"

"Yes, and we got trapped." Eames' voice was low, with a chill to it. "You ran away, we didn't know that. Cobb and I end up going into the worst parts of our subconscious. And it was all thanks to you, Arthur." He stepped forward. "You put us all at risk. Including Fran. Including Ariadne. Who, in case you hadn't noticed, isn't here."

"I didn't mean for this to happen, look, I'm sor-"

"Save it." Cobb's voice cut like a lash. "Just- save your pathetic, sorry excuses, Arthur. I don't want to hear them. I had Jensen's journal. I could have read it, if you hadn't done what you did. I went into coma, without reading it. And now, we're out of the dream, and he's so traumatised, he's locked in. I can never extract from him again. I have to explain to the Caddicks that we'll never find their daughter."

"Look," Arthur was beginning to feel cornered. "Look, I'm sorry. I did what I thought was right, we were in unchartered territory. None of us knew what we really getting into-"

"You thought!" Cobb was incandescent. "No, you didn't think, and that's why we are where we are! You can explain to the Caddicks why this extraction is a failure. You can take the rap for it. Because this is down to you, and I am sic-"

Arthur had heard enough. His fist thrust out and punched the Extractor. Hard. Cobb staggered back, a trickle of blood forming on his top lip.

"Don't you dare blame me for this." The Point Man's voice was ice. "I told you that this case was too dangerous. Ariadne didn't want to do it, even the shrink you've hired has reservations! But, no, this was your chance to play to your ego again. You led us into a situation with no way out with Fischer. And you led us into one again with this. And again, its all because you think only of yourself and whats important to you. Being seen as the big man, and the big hero. And forget what the rest of us thought."

He picked up the PASIV. Fran stepped forward. "Arthur-"

"Save it." His tone was curt. He turned and walked out. Cobb was breathing hard, his face white. Fran turned and followed Arthur.

"Arthur!"

"Forget it, Fran."

"Arthur!" Fran broke into a run, and grabbed his shoulder. "You can't do this! You can't keep on trying to run away from this!"

"Excuse me?"

Fran looked at him. "You need to calm down, and talk to Cobb. You can't just leave it like this!"

"Is that your professional opinion?"

"No." She glared at him. "Its my opinion as myself. If you walk away from Cobb and Eames now, you may never be able to go back. Think about it."

Arthur looked at her. "Its my decision."

"It's a bad one!"

"Well, as you've seen demonstrated, doctor" - she flinched at the amount of venom in the final word – "I make bad decisions. Its what Cobb clearly paid me for!"

He shrugged her hand off, and continued. She looked after the retreating figure, her heart sinking.

A loud knock at the door made her jump. "Just a minute!" She hastily rubbed the moisturiser into her face, and got up.

She opened the door, peering through it cautiously. "Eames?"

"Fran." The Forger's tone was apologetic. "I'm sorry for coming over like this. But, well, as I've been discharged from my inside job, and I don't think Arthur wants me there tonight, I thought…" his voice trailed off, and she picked up on a flash of vulnerability.

"Come in." She pulled the door open.

"Thank you." He licked his top lip, and she led him into the living room.

"Drink?"

"Won't say no."

"Scotch?"

"Wonderful."

"Take a seat."

The Forger settled into an easy chair, and gratefully accepted the tumbler of amber liquid. He raised his glass. "T o…bollocks. To getting absolutely smashed tonight and forgetting this ever happened."

She smiled. "I'll drink to that."

The Scotch left a pleasant, burning sensation in her stomach. She looked at Eames. "So…whats going to happen?"

The Forger shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest. Cobb is probably in a rage; Arthur the same. They are –"

"Both stubborn?"

"Yes."

"Always keen to think they're in the right?"

"Yes." He started to smile. "You know, Fran, you should be a psychiatrist!"

She laughed. "Touche."

Eames took a long swallow of Scotch. "I have no idea whats going to happen. The extraction failed. And whether it was because Cobb should never have taken the job on, or Arthur behaved like an idiot, or Cobb thinks Arthur's an idiot – I don't care, at this precise moment. There is something else…"

His voice trailed off. Silence.

"Yes?"

Eames put the glass on the floor, twisting his hands together. "Fran…when I was in that place…if you hadn't come to find me…"

"You would have woken up, I'm sure."

"But I might not have done." His tone was honest. "You…saved my life, effectively. Thank you."

"I did what I thought I needed to do." Her tone was light. "Cobb was gone; Arthur was, well-"

"Cobb would have come out of necessity; Arthur the same. You came because you wanted to."

She dropped her eyes to the floor. "What makes you think that?"

"The fact you hardly know me, but you were willing to take the risk."

"Well, risks make life exciting."

"They do." Eames' tone was low. "And that's why I'm going to take one now."

Getting up, he moved over to her, and circled his arm round her waist. Reciprocating, she pulled his head down, leading to a passionate, explosive kiss.

"Risks," Fran spoke, her voice throaty. "Are worth taking. Come on."

Taking his hand, she led him to her bedroom. With a push to the door, the rest of the world was firmly shut out.

Arthur sat hunched in a chair, trying to calm down. He couldn't believe how the extraction had imploded, or how Cobb had reacted.

He rubbed his face. Ariadne. Where was she? He picked up his cellphone, and dialled. After a few rings, it went straight to voicemail.

A slight sob escaped his lips. He'd never felt so alone. Eames had not come back, and he knew that Cobb would not welcome him. He felt ashamed, but still angry. The case, as he kept reminding himself, was Cobb's idea.

But there was another angle. The case wasn't over. Suddenly, Arthur realised how the extraction could be pulled back. Getting up, he walked over to his laptop, switched it on, and booted it. The machine clicked and whirred as it came into life.

"Internet," Arthur mumbled. "OK. Now, Rafe…where are you?"